Some People Make the Future
by The Disappeared
Summary: Some people let the future happen to them; others make the future for themselves. But what price is too high to pay for the future that you want? A retelling of The Avengers in which a new member is added to the team; one who will change the future the Avengers face completely. Currently no pairings...later possible Bruce/OC.


Welcome to the story! This has been languishing in my laptop for about six months now, and I finally decided to go ahead and publish it.

Disclaimer: The Avengers is the intellectual property of Marvel Comics. I do not own it, nor do I seek to. My thought on fanfiction is that it's a great sandbox for aspiring writers to play with before moving on to their own stories, since the characters, background, and locations come pre-made. And I currently need that crutch quite desperately.

All that said, here's the fic!

* * *

Maria strode down the hall, her regulation boots marking a confident beat on the tile floor. While she would never admit as much openly, she was happy to have a mission. Maria was a black and white, good and evil kind of woman; albeit one currently mired in the shades of grey that were the occupational hazard of SHIELD. Missions, though, were about as clear-cut as it came. At the end of the day, the mission file was stamped as either failed or completed. It was straightforward, and while Maria had never failed to complete a mission, she appreciated the clarity it brought to her world. Failed. Or Complete. Black. Or white. All this is to say that Maria was very happy to be on a mission once more.

And yet, Maria had reservations about this particular mission. As she had read the file briefing her on her target, Maria had felt wisps of grey beginning to cloud the situation, now more than ever. Her target was a Caucasian female, age 22, measuring 5'4". That part of the profile Maria had no qualms about. It was as she read further into the girl's background that the red flags began to go up.

The girl was an asset of classified abilities, and her background was no clearer. Out of her two-page biographical summary, one and a half were blacked out, only being cleared to read when she turned eighteen. It was a lot of mystery for one girl, and if there was one thing Maria didn't like, it was mysteries.

"Name?" a clerk drawled at her lazily as she neared his desk, not bothering to look up.

Maria wordlessly handed him her badge, which the clerk took without so much as a passing glance before scanning the ID card into his computer. He looked at the screen and his face blanched. Maria inwardly smiled, knowing the reason why. Her affiliation was need-to-know, and while the clerk was obviously not the cream of the crop, he was at least intelligent enough to realize that meant she was certainly higher ranking than anyone he'd ever met. Perhaps there was hope for him yet.

In a hushed, hurried voice, the clerk made a call to his superior. Within moments the doors behind him swung open and a higher ranking escort (far more respectful than the clerk) emerged to take her to the intelligence room.

"What do I need to know?" Maria asked brusquely as she walked.

"Jessica Johnson, working for us 7 years now in the intelligence agency. We use her to help us plan for other countries' actions."

"7 years? She joined when she was 15?" Maria asked, a trace of skepticism in her voice.

"Joined isn't exactly what I'd call it," her escort said diplomatically. "It would be more appropriate to say that she was discovered."

"And her abilities?" Maria probed, hoping to be somewhat more prepared when she went in to recruit the girl.

"Need to know, ma'am," the escort replied, leaving the 'and if you don't know…' unspoken. Maria understood his position; she respected someone that followed the rules.

He paused, as if seeking confirmation to an unspoken question, and then continued. "May I ask you a favor, person to person?"

Maria nodded a crisp acquiescence.

"Take care of her for us, would you? She's not like most people. Bad situations seem to follow her around. I don't know what we'd do if anything happened to her…" he trailed off. While his words could be interpreted as saying the CIA needed her, the emotional undercurrent of his voice was saying another thing altogether. Likely the girl had bonded with him in some way.

They suddenly stopped in front of a giant, official-looking door, presumably their destination.

When the escort didn't move to open it, Maria realized he was still waiting for her answer. "We'll do our best to keep her safe," Maria replied, not wanting to make any promises she couldn't fulfill. The escort seemed unsatisfied with her answer, but she kept the conversation from going any further by moving to open the door.

"I'd like to be alone with her," Maria said simply, in a tone that brokered no disagreement. Reluctantly, the escort stepped back and Maria swung the door open the rest of the way…to find nothing but an empty room.

"Ms. Johnson?" Maria called peering about the room. This didn't match with her expectations of this scenario at all, and left her feeling uncharacteristically uncertain.

"Call me Jessie!" a young girl's voice rang out from the vacant office…if it could be called that. Maria looked around the room for the source of the voice. The office was set up like any other, but its military precision had been replaced with something that looked more like a 15 year-old girl's bedroom. Older posters of ponies had been covered over with posters of Justin Bieber, which had in turn been buried beneath fairly new looking posters which featured each of the Avengers. This might not be as hard of a sell as she had thought.

While the office had proven insightful, Maria was actually beginning to wonder if the girl's power was invisibility before she felt something land feather-soft on her regulation bun. Maria picked the thing off of her head and examined it incredulously, before tilting her head to look at the girl directly…above her?

"Do you mind if I ask how you managed to get daisies in here?" Maria asked, buying herself some time to recover from her surprise. She'd been expecting someone more military, for lack of a better word. Instead, the sight that greeted her was a young, gangly girl making daisy chains, draping herself in the rafters of a top-secret CIA office. To make the sight even stranger, she was garbed in an oddly combined flowery pink sundress and standard combat boots. Maria wasn't sure how she hadn't noticed the girl before – her pale skin almost glowed.

"Top secret!" the girl replied cheerfully. "But it helps if you know the right people."

"Would you mind coming down from there, Ms. Johnson?" Maria asked, in a tone that made clear she was not actually making a request.

The girl sprang down fluidly, in-born grace clashing with her external gawkiness. In fact, had Maria not been seen the girl's braided pigtails flying up slightly, she would have sworn she hadn't been falling at all; merely floating to the ground. "I told you, call me Jessie!"

"…Jessie," Maria said slowly. "Agent Hill," she introduced herself, offering a well-callused hand.

"Nice to meet you!" Jessie said enthusiastically. As the girl took Maria's hand lightly in her own, Maria couldn't help but notice that her hand dwarfed the tiny one it held. If it was in her nature to question orders, she would certainly be questioning this one. The girl was young and innocent, with her whole life ahead of her. And yet, that life that could be ended in an instant if the plan Fury had been roped into went through.

"Jessie," Maria said, disentangling herself from the girl's surprisingly strong grip with the slightest hint of regret. "I hope you don't mind, but I'm here on official business."

"Oh, I know!" Jessie said, straightening up and trying to look more official.

"Have you been briefed?" Maria asked more formally, trying to regain her professional demeanor.

"Not in person, but I know everything already," Jessie replied matter-of-factly, not a trace of boasting in her voice.

"So you know how dangerous this mission will be," Maria said. She couldn't help but hope that the girl would decline. She did not want to be responsible, in any way, for the death or injury of innocents, and innocent Jessie certainly was.

"I'm super excited!" Jessie said, practically vibrating with energy. "I mean, I get to meet the whole team! You don't know how long I've been fed data about them, but I've never been able to meet them!" she said excitedly, her bright smile lighting up the room.

"I see. Then you don't need convincing?" Maria asked, knowing the answer.

"Nope!" Jessie chirped.

"And you're sure about this?" Maria asked, testing the girl's resolve.

As if sensing Maria's own concerns, her immature affect - _a facade, Maria wondered?_- dropped so abruptly it took Maria aback. "Look, I know the dangers of this. But I'm twenty two years old, blessed or cursed, however you may regard it, with an ability beyond my control. The road ahead is not an easy one, and I do not expect to come out unscathed. I know what I'm getting into - better than even you do. And I choose this fate despite that."

For better or for worse, this girl's destiny was now intertwined with the Avengers.

* * *

I've got a pretty crazy schedule right now, so updates may be rather sporadic, to say the least.

Constructive criticism is welcome, as are encouraging reviews. :) I'm curious to know - what do you guys think Jessie's ability is? You'll find out the answer soon!


End file.
